Crate



J. P. KUBES Jan. l0, 1933.

CRATE Filed June 22', 1952 lNvENToR. -7oiz71 Z7 /zze BY 90g.

ATTORNEY6.

Patented Jan. 10, 1933 UNITED STATES JOHN I. KUBES,v F CLEVELAND, OHIO CRATE Application filed .Tune 22,

The present invention relates to a crate for shipping produce and, more particularly, a crate intended for packing and shipping of tomatoes or other food products having a shape similar to that of a tomato.

Considerable care must be exercised in the shipping of tomatoes since this article is easily bruised and quickly decays when the skin is broken, consequently, the crates in lo' which this product is packed must have relatively smooth interiors without sharp edges which would cut the tomatoes in packing or transit.

Another requirement in crates in general V use for shipping fruit and vegetables is that these must be adapted to be transported fiat in the form of a mat to the packing point and there be easily and quickly formed up and fastened into a container, crates of the wire- 20` bound type being most suitable for this use. Such containers as have heretofore been made with smooth interiors suitable for holding tomatoes have not been of a relatively simple construction suitable to be assembled into container form at the growing point. The present invention contemplates providing a container for tomatoes, and the like, which presents an interior which will not injure the tomatoes and which is, at the same 3o' time, of the wire-bound type and especially easy to assemble due to certain additional features to be described hereinafter.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provid-e a wire-bound crate which may be shipped flat in the form of a mat to the packing point and then formed into a crate having an interior which will not injure the contents of soft and perishable produce. Another object of the invention is to provide a wire-bound crate having no edges which can come in injurious contact with articles of produce having the general shape of a tomato. kA further object of the invention is to provide a crate of the foregoing type in which the ends may be in- 1932. Serial No. 618,712.

serted after the crate, exclusive of the top, has been bound together with wire or other bindingV means. To the accomplishment ofv the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in th-e claims. The annexed drawing' and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, and such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in whith the principle of the invention may be use In said annexed drawing:

Fig. l is a plan view of a mat adapted to be bound in the form of a crate; Fig. 2 is a View in perspective of a crate with top removed and one end partly in place; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through one end of the crate with the cover in place; Fig. Il is a fragment of a section taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a. perspective viewof a vertical cleat forming part of the crate structure; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one end of a horizontal cleat mating with the vertical Cleats.

Referring t0 Fig. l of the drawing, the mat 7 consists of a bottom panel 8 and side panels 9 and ll having cleats at their margins, together with cleats l2 which do not form parts of a panel. These elements are stitched to wires 13 and 14: and the mat may be bound into the form of a crate by means of these wires at the packing point to constitute the structure shown in Fig. 2. It is the fundamental requisite of all crates used for packing produce that they shall be capable of being shipped in the knocked-down condition in the form of a mat and then be read ily folded to constitute a container at the packing point. This is best done .by stitching the elements to wires and then twisting the ends of the wires together to hold the crate in shape.

It will be seen from Fig. 2 of the drawing that the crate has been formed from the elements of the mat shown in Fig. 1 so as to provide the bottom 8 and side walls 9 and 11 as well as open end frames 15 and 16, the whole being bound together by means of the wires 13 and 14 which are stitched to the cleats by staples 17 and have their ends twisted together at 18.

Referring to the open end frame 15, it will be noted that this consists of two horizontal cleats 19 and 21 and two vertical cleats 22 and 23. As seen in Figs. 5 and 6, the horizontal cleats are provided with tenons 24 adapted to mate with a mortise 25 in the vertical cleats. In addition to this mortise, the Vertical cleats are made Wider than the horizontal cleats and have a vertical groove 26 positioned inwardly of the horizontal cleats when the crate has been formed.y

These grooves, of which there will be one in each vertical cleat, are for the reception of end vanels which will close the end frames and orm a completed container ready to be packed.

The end panels 27 are cut to lit the grooves 26 and are readily slid into place after the crate has been bound with the Wires 13 and 14. One end panel is slid into each end frame and, as will be seen from Fig. 3 of the drawing, slides clear-to the bottom of the crate, fitting flush with such bottom. Likewise, the end panel is also flush with the top surface of the top horizontal cleat so that it abuts the top 28 when this is placed on the packed crate.v It will be noted that the end panel completely masks the horizontal cleats 19 and 21 due to the fact that the grooves 26 in which these end panels lie are positioned inwardly of the horizontal cleats. As a result, there is no horizontal edge or shoulder to cut the tomatoes or other contents.

Due to the shape of the tomato or other fruit or vegetable of similar shape, such as the tangerine, characterized by rounded sides and flattened top and bottom, it is only necessary to guard against horizontal edges in a. container, on which the flattened bottom of the tomato would rest. Provided that vertical edges or shoulders, such as the shoulder 29, are not made too Wide, the circular outline of the tomato in the horizontal plane prevents contact with such vertical edges by reason of the fact that such circular bodies cannot lie close to the apex of the corner angle, and therefore, cannot touch a vertical edge adjacent such apex. As a consequence, vertical edges such as those occurring in the present crate are not objectionable and no horizontal edges or shoulders are exposed to cut the tomato during packing, transit or unpacking, since the horizontal cleats are completely masked by the sliding end panels.

Another advantage found in the present construction is that a crate thus suitable for shipping tomatoes and the like, can be formed up at the packing point with as great facility as in other wire-bound crates, it being only necessary to insert the end anels 27 into the bound structures which has been tied with wires in the same manner as other wirebound crates. This is an important advantage over crates in which end panels have been positioned in grooves by foldin the container mat around such end pane since it is obviously quicker and easier to bind the crate without the panels and then insert these than it would be to attempt to fold the unbound structure around' the panels. This feature is of utmost im ortance where the crate must be assembled y the packer as is necessarily the case in shipping produce since the crate is made at a point distant from the farm or orchard and must, consequently, be shipped in mat form to the point of use and there assembled in sha The herein describeffiemprovement in wirebound crates rendering these suitable for shipping tomatoes and other produce of like shape and perishability is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and is quickly and easly assembled at the packing point. Tomatoes shipped thereiny are found to reach the consumer in good condition and without waste due to spoilage.

Other modes of a plying the rinciple of my invention may Ibe employ instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, rovided the means stated by any of the fol owing claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A crate comprising a bottom, side walls, cleats forming open end frames and having vertical grooves therein, wires for bindjn the foregoing elements into box form an end panels adapted to be slid into said grooves after said crate has been bound into shape by said wires.

2. A crate comprising a bottom, side walls, cleats forming open end frames and having vertical grooves in vertical cleats, means connecting said bottom, side walls and cleats for binding said crate into box form and end panels adapted to be slid into said vertical grooves after said crate has been bound into shape.

3. A crate comprising a bottom, side walls, cleats forming open end frames, vertical grooves in the vertical cleats of said frames positioned inwardly of the horizontal cleats of said frames, and end panels adapted to be slid into said vertical grooves after said crate has been fastened into shape.

4. A crate comprising a bottom, side walls, cleats forming open end frames, vertical grooves in the vertical cleats of said frames, said grooves being positioned inwardly of the horizontal cleats of said frames, and end panels adapted to be slid into said grooves and masking said horizontal Cleats.

5. A crate comprising a bottom, side Walls, cleats forming thek :four sides of open end frames, and end panels filling said frames, said panels being positioned inwardly of the horizontal cleats forming said frames and completely masking said cleats.

6. A crate comprising a bottom, side Walls, cleats forming open end frames, and end panels filling said frames, said panels being positioned inwardly of the horizontal cleats to form a shoulderless surface between the vertical cleats of said frames.

Signed by me this 15 day of June, 1932.

JOHN P. KUBES. 

